12.07.2015

Attorney General Lynch to Launch Pattern or Practice Investigation of Chicago Police Department

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Hello All:

Well, if what the NAACP Legal Defense Fund says is true, there will be a thorough investigation of police practices and abuses coming to the Chicago Police Department.

In a communique received from the Legal Defense Fund, the investigation was precipitated by the cruel manner in which 17 year old Laquan McDonald was gunned down, and the lies told by several police officers to cover up the heinous act, despite the fact that camera footage told an entirely different story!!

With so much evidence on camera, one wonders what the motivation would be for blatantly lying - not only to protect ones self, but to cover up for officers who were clearly in violation the law; guilty of murder, and had no sign or remorse whatsoever. Perhaps, in addition to a pattern of egregious police brutality, there is also internal intimidation leveled against officers who might ordinarily come forward, but don't for fear of their lives, or the lives of their family members.

Chicago is a tough town, to say the least. Their police, the gangs, the politicians, even their activists, are not to be taken lightly. Perhaps that's the reason the gang activities have continued unabated over the past 8 years. They were terrible before President Obama - remember Cabrini Green? - and they're still out of control. Likewise, the police department has been known to allegedly turn a blind eye to certain criminal activities, if the price is right; and lean on others if not. But people are getting fed up with waiting for the locals to reign in their so- called law enforcement officers. It's also a known fact, that when law enforcement runs the town, humanity goes out the window. Chicago, and other cities, appear to be heading in that direction.

The fact that the Chicago PD had the audacity to lie about the circumstances of McDonald's death shows that they either think they are the law; they are above the law, or that they can beat the rap and defeat any attempt to prove any violation of either civil or human rights. Corruption has reigned so long in the "toddling town" it will be interesting to see what shakes out, and what crawls from under those rocks as they begin to probe the underbelly of Alfonse Capone's favorite haunt.

I enclosed a copy of the statement from the LDF for your information, as well as to show those among us, who are naysayers, that our venerable veteran organizations are still on top of and in front of things that affect us as Black people. We are all in this together, each organization taking one part of Leviathan can bring own its total eradication.

Kudos to the NAACP LDF; to the brothers and sisters who are keeping the pressure on, to Loretta Lynch and the Department of Justice, and to those of us citizens who aren't going to take it any more.

Contact: Nyasha Laing nlaing@naacpldf.org, 212-965-2235, 646-630-5364
New York, New York –The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) supports the Justice Department's decision to open a civil rights 'pattern or practice' investigation of the Chicago Police Department to determine whether the department has engaged in unlawful policing practices. "The police-involved shooting death of 17-year old Laquan McDonald and the notorious Chicago police torture cases are clear signs of a troubled police department," said Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of LDF. "We are particularly gratified that the Department of Justice will focus part of its investigation on accountability within the Chicago Police Department,” said Ifill. “Given the number of officers on the scene of the Laquan McDonald killing and the willingness of some officers to corroborate a false account of how the teenager was killed, it is clear that accountability systems within the Chicago Police Department are broken. This cannot continue.”
A graphic video of a Chicago police officer shooting McDonald multiple times shows the teen moving away from the officers. This contradicts reports by officers on the scene that McDonald moved toward the officers with a knife when he was shot.
Police ‘cover ups’ or the ‘blue wall of silence’ have existed for decades in Chicago. It was so entrenched that state elected officials established the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission in 2009 to investigate and address the wrongful convictions of persons who were tortured by police and forced to confess to crimes they did not commit under the watch of former police chief Jon Burge. Reports estimate that about 192 persons, primarily African-American men, were tortured by Chicago police officers in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
“This type of police violence and abuse against civilians is what motivated Congress to give the Justice Department the authority to conduct ‘pattern or practice’ investigations,” said Janai Nelson, Associate Director-Counsel of LDF. “It is our hope that the Justice Department will consider charges under all federal civil and criminal statutes applicable to the actions of the Chicago Police Department.” However, this investigation does not relieve the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office from the obligation to pursue state obstruction of justice or other charges against any officers who made false statements or otherwise interfered with the investigation of the killing of Laquan McDonald. Given the failure of the state’s attorney to pursue these charges more than a year after Mr. McDonald’s death, we call for an independent special prosecutor to pursue this investigation.
LDF has successfully supported calls for a federal civil rights probe of the Baltimore Police Department, and eagerly awaits the Justice Department’s response to its request for a similar probe in North Charleston, South Carolina following the highly publicized death of Walter Scott, who was shot in the back by a North Charleston police officer. # # #About The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is not a part of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) although LDF was founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. Since 1957, LDF has been a completely separate organization. Please refer to us in media attributions as the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund or LDF.

I'm also attaching the following video - hope you can access it Click on the word "video" below: